The Big Green
(1995)

Has it really been two decades since Walter Matthau coached THE BAD
NEWS BEARS? Nineteen years and two MIGHTY DUCKS later, the formula is
still going strong. POLICE ACADEMY graduate Steve Guttenberg stars as
a small-town deputy sheriff corralled into co-coaching the school's
hastily formed soccer team. His partner-in-crime is the new British
"exchange teacher" (Olivia D'Abo), a lively lass who has obviously
seen DANGEROUS MINDS and knows that the best way to gain the respect
of a disinterested, outer-city audience is to teach them something
neat. Like soccer.
Most of the good-natured gags are of the fast-motion variety, such as
runaway cows and out-of-control lawnmowers. Kids will laugh at the
occasional belching bit, while their parents peacefully doze beside
them. Other than letting a supporting character named Newt go
unscathed, what's missing from THE BIG GREEN is a better integration
of music and comedy. Instead of a peppy pop score, which would
arguably work to better effect, most of the action is set to a
bombastic orchestral score that belongs somewhere else.
Comedy needs music. Just watch any old Bugs Bunny short. The Marx
Brothers knew it. Mel Brooks knows it. Unfortunately, the current
trend is to "overscore." Lush strings and booming brass in every
scene, at every moment. Remember the simple strains of Bizet's
"Habanera" in the original BAD NEWS BEARS? These days, it's usually a
bellowing fanfare that threatens to smother every scene in its path.
Much like adding frosting to already frosted cake.
Grade: C-
Copyright 1995 Michael J. Legeros
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros